Contamination found in foundation seedstocks of Natto soybeans

[Guest guest]

Contamination found in foundation seedstocks of Natto soybeans

Roundup Ready soybean genetics recently discovered in foundation

seeds used by breeders -- " the seed for the seeds "

 

http://www.newfarm.org/news/111502/foundation_seeds.shtml

 

TAKE ACTION

 

Earlier this fall The New Farm® worked with the NPSAS to develop an

automated email campaign allowing you to express your concern about

the GMO contamination of foundation feedstocks. This new discovery

of contaminated foundation soybeans adds new urgency to the need to

make your voice heard on this issue.

 

Please check out our email letter campaign. It will only take a

moment to send your concerns to leaders in land grant universities

across the upper midwest who are charged with protecting foundation

seedstocks.

 

 

NOVEMBER 18, 2002: A press release from the Northern Plains

Sustainable Agriculture Society. In the debate surrounding the

commercialization of Roundup Ready wheat, the ability to segregate

GMO and non-GMO varieties has been used to assure concerned farmers

of their continued freedom of choice.

 

Yet, in spite of the North Dakota State University Foundation

Seedstocks Program's attempts to segregate and keep transgenic

varieties out of its non-GMO varieties, it has been discovered that

two lots of Foundation Seedstocks for NDSU's Natto soybeans have

been contaminated with Monsanto's Roundup Ready soybean genetics.

 

Foundation seedstocks, as the name implies, is the foundation for

our entire seed system. The Foundation Seedstocks Program is charged

with taking the seed produced by our plant breeders and increasing

that seed to provide pure seed to producers of registered and

certified seed. Foundation seedstocks is the " seed for the seed " and

therefore must be true to the variety developed by the plant

breeder.

 

" Contamination of foundation seedstocks strikes at the very heart of

the segregation argument. Not only does it call into question how

realistic it is to think we can keep transgenic varieties out but it

raises the issue of at what cost and who bears the liability for the

costs associated with such an event, " states Duane Boehm, a producer

near Richardton, ND.

 

Dale Williams, Director of the NDSU Foundation Seedstocks program,

stated that two lots of the Natto varieties were found to be

contaminated after having been shipped down to Chile to grow more

foundation seed during the winter months. When the lots were brought

back to North Dakota this spring, they were distributed to growers

of registered seed, some of it destined for producers of Identity

Preserved (IP) and organic production.

 

The contamination was discovered after harvest in October, when the

Foundation Seedstocks Program identified and weeded out

uncharacteristic plants from their Natto plots grown from these lots

and had the plants tested for suspected transgenic contamination.

Some of those plants tested positive for the presence of Monsanto's

Roundup Ready genes.

 

The Foundation Seedstocks Program then harvested their seed lots,

cleaned the lots, and tested the cleanings for Monsanto's Roundup

Ready genes. The tests again showed levels of contamination.

 

At this point, Williams called on the producers implicated through

the sales from those contaminated seed lots this last spring,

notifying them of the contamination issues with the seed they

bought. Those issues carry over then to the seed they have

subsequently produced.

 

The decision to destroy these foundation lots has not been made

despite statements made early this spring, that if foundation

seedstocks were to become contaminated with transgenic varieties

they would be destroyed. Using differences in the size of the Natto

soybeans and Roundup Ready soybeans, which are larger, the

Foundation Seedstocks Program is attempting to clean up the

contamination and follow up with testing.

 

However, Williams acknowledged the limits of this approach. He

stated that the Foundation Seedstocks Program is operating under

a " full disclosure policy " to notify customers of these Natto

soybean seed lots of the transgenic contamination.

 

Williams pointed out that the Foundation Seedstocks Program can go

back to the small amount of breeders seed being kept in cold storage

to again increase the foundation seedstocks for these lots of Natto

soybeans.

 

The risks to the Foundation Seedstocks Program demonstrated by this

transgenic contamination event are clear.. " As a producer of

certified wheat seed, this is a risk we don't want to take! " states

Warren Craft, a certified seed producer near Stanley, ND. We must

say " NO " to Roundup Ready wheat, or we risk the same headlines for

our wheat seedstocks! "

 

This is a risk we don't want to take!

Warren Craft, Stanley, ND

 

NORTHERN PLAINS SUSTAINABLE

AGRICULTURE SOCIETY

9824 79th St. SE, Fullerton, ND 58441

Phone & Fax: 701-883-4304

Web site: www.npsas.org

Email: tpnpsas

For Immediate Release…….November 11, 2002

For more information, contact Theresa Podoll, NPSAS Executive, at 701-883-4304.

 

For more information on the risks posed by transgenic varieties to

foundation seedstocks and NPSAS's

" Save Our Seed " campaign visit http://www.npsas.org/SaveOurSeed.html

NPSAS is a non-profit educational organization dedicated to

sustainable food production and distribution

systems. The Society has over 345 members in the Northern Great

Plains region and was founded in 1979.

--

 

02-Dec

AHITBio, a Hokkaido based bio venture, has started selling its natto

(fermented soybeans) made from GMO soybeans with a seal saying " this

natto was made from GMO soybeans, " . This is the first time any food

products have been sold in Japan, labeled as made from GMO

agricultural products. The GMO natto was made from GMO soybeans

imported from the United States. The selling price is 800 yen per 15

packs. AHITBio is selling the GMO natto via its homepage.

(2 Dec 2003 Nikkan Kogyo)

 

http://www.uknow.or.jp/be_e/science/science_news/sciencenews.htm?

catg_code=CG000003 & month=12 & year=2003